


Fallout

by masterofmyfate



Series: Ducks! :V [2]
Category: Disney Duck Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24730663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masterofmyfate/pseuds/masterofmyfate
Summary: In the aftermath of a really bad fight between the two teens, Gladstone goes after Donald to try and set things right. Based on a TCS (Teenage Cousin Shenanigans AU) fic by @SolBaby, found here https://tcsauaskblog.tumblr.com/post/620303187502661632/della-knew-it-was-one-of-donalds-bad-days-long
Series: Ducks! :V [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1794376
Comments: 9
Kudos: 46





	Fallout

It had been about an hour since Donald ran off, and distant growls of thunder had begun accenting the nonstop rain. “That’s it. I’m going after him,” said Gladstone, getting to his feet and tossing the ice pack on the table, even though his bruised eye wasn’t feeling much better.

Della tried pushing him back onto the chair. “That’s a bad idea.”

“Look at that storm, Del!” 

She cast a troubled glance outside. “I know. Look, _I’ll_ go, you need to stay here. Fethry needs you,” she added, tugging at Gladstone’s guilt. When Donald hadn’t come back after about ten minutes, Fethry had planted himself in the front room by the window, wrapped in a blanket and waiting. He’d been awfully quiet, almost shell-shocked by the earlier exchange between his cousins, despite Gladstone and Della’s attempts to assure him that things were gonna be ok.

Gladstone wanted to stay. He did.

But he shook his head and brushed her off. “No. I’m going. He could be anywhere by now, but I’ll find him in no time.”

“He could…” she swallowed, hating the words that came next, “…still be angry.”

The image of those blazing eyes flashed through Gladstone’s mind. Donald had never gotten that angry with him before. Sure, he blew up all the time. He once tried beating up a tree because a root had stubbed his toe, jabbering incoherently in a whirl of fists, ending up attacked by chipmunks. But this? This was something entirely different. The way Don had silently, almost _casually_ hurled him across the room into a lamp, shattering it completely…

Gladstone had never felt that scared.

It was his fault, really. He’d goaded and insulted Donald past the point of no return, and triggered an act he _knew_ his cousin would regret for a long, long time. Now it was up to him to try and make things right. 

Gladstone gave a devil-may-care grin. “If I don’t come back, tell Grandma I love her.”

Della glared at him. “That’s not funny.”

But she didn’t stop him this time.

Gladstone let his feet do the thinking, wandering directly into the last place he expected—the clearing with the chestnut tree.

Don wasn’t hard to spot. He was standing with his back to Gladstone, shoulders hunched, feathers all matted and drenched from the storm, wearing only a thin t-shirt and shorts. Even from a distance, through the rain, Gladstone could see the tension written into every line of his body.

Lightning flickered and Gladstone flinched. His heart racing, he took several steps forward and called out, cupping his hands. “Don! Come on, it’s time to come home!”

Donald didn’t answer.

Gladstone ignored the feeling of dread and yelled again over the rain and wind. “Look, it’s COLD and WET and I’m wearing my BEST JEANS so LET’S _GO_!” He stomped a foot on the last word for emphasis.

Slowly, Donald turned, and though still standing at a safe distance, Gladstone took a step back at the look on his cousin’s face. It was pain. Deep, incredible pain. Guilt, too, and still-smoldering fury. “ _Go. Away_.” It was so quiet, Gladstone read the mouthed words more than he actually heard them.

Thunder rumbled, louder and closer than before. Gladstone decided to drop the fake irritation and went straight for pleading. “C'mon, Don, I’m sorry! I’m sorry we fought, I’m sorry I made you mad, and I’m sorry I did this to you! Now will you just follow me back? This is dangerous!”

Donald tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. “Dangerous? Don’t you get it? _I’m dangerous_!”

Gladstone scoffed, folding his arms tightly. “And people say I’m the dramatic one.”

But he jumped as Donald roared, “ _You’re just lucky Della was there to stop me! I almost—_ “

And with that, his broad frame began to shake, and when Gladstone realized he was crying, he ran. He caught Donald in a hug. He tried squeezing the hurt out of Donald like Fethry would, tried making his voice soothing like Della. “But you didn’t, okay? I’m fine, so—so just stop acting like an idiot and get back inside!” Okay, maybe not so much like Della.

Donald jerked himself away. “No!”

Gladstone sighed and glanced uneasily at the sky. It didn’t look like the storm was letting up at all, and Don was already freezing to the touch. It was time to get serious, and oh, how he hated getting serious. He took a deep breath, and plunged on. “LISTEN TO ME. Yeah. You messed up. So what? So did I! We all do sometimes! You’re still my best fr…” He stopped, his voice cutting out unexpectedly.

Donald was looking at him now, blue eyes wide.

Well, no turning back now. Gladstone swallowed, and somehow couldn’t meet Don’s eyes as he muttered the rest of the sentence. “My best friend. There. I said it.” And after a beat of pure silence, he cleared his throat and scuffed his foot and flailed a hand in the direction of the farmhouse, and said, way louder than necessary, “So will you _please_ drop the theatrics and get back inside?!“

An arm crashed over his shoulders, and for a split second Gladstone went completely rigid, because _oh no wait is this affection WAIT—_

Then he saw Donald crack a crooked smile, and he knew things were gonna work out. Don started steering them back home, and it was a couple minutes before either of them said anything. “So…does that mean you forgive me?” Gladstone asked, elbowing him in the side.

In a definite but still gentle response, Donald’s knuckles messed up all of Gladstone’s curls that the storm had miraculously left unharmed, despite his laughing protests. “You’re so dumb,” said Donald, but the way he said it didn’t match the words at all. 

By the time they got back to the farmhouse, they were soaking wet, caked in mud, and shivering, but it didn’t matter. Fethry collected every blanket in the house (including some bedsheets and at least one hammock) and all but buried his cousins in them. He would have put Tabasco sauce in the hot chocolate too if Gladstone hadn’t fortunately caught the near-disaster before it could take place.

For once Della found herself on the scolding side of the conversation because “Gosh darn it I swear if either of you get pneumonia, I am not gonna be the one who explains to Granny-!” But it didn’t last long because she could sense something dark deep inside her brother that would need a long time to heal. Still, this was a good start.

**Author's Note:**

> In this adorable! (yet often angsty) AU by @SolBaby, the orphaned cousins live together on Grandma Coot's farm and basically get into all kinds of trouble aaaand would literally do anything for each other. https://tcsauaskblog.tumblr.com


End file.
